Instead of going out several nights a week to buy ice cream at a local ice cream parlor, save money and make your own ice cream at home. Your kids will certainly be amazed when they see how their liquid ingredients quickly turn into a solid. This recipe is easy and safe enough for kids to do on their own (with some supervision if you don’t want them to make a mess), so it is a great idea to leave the ingredients and recipes at home with a babysitter for the kids to have fun while you enjoy a night out.

Make this recipe your own by adding additional toppings or mix-ins, such as chocolate chips, cookie crumbs, or sprinkles. If you have any sugary cereals around the house, they can also be crushed and used as a fun crunchy ice cream topping, such as Cookie Crunch, Fruit Loops, or Cap’n Crunch. Toppings like chocolate or caramel syrup or whipped cream also add to the fun, and if you want your kids to also get a serving of fruit, add some cherries, raspberries, blueberries, or sliced strawberries, pineapple, mango, or kiwi.

Ice Cream Recipe (Makes one serving)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/8 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla or cocoa powder

2 cups ice

1 cup salt

Other necessary materials:

1 quart-sized Ziploc bag

1 gallon-sized Ziploc bag

Measuring cups and measuring spoons

Directions:

Take a quart-sized Ziploc bag, and pour milk, heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla or cocoa powder into the bag. Zip the bag tightly closed, and mix it up by lightly shaking and squeezing the mixture.

Take a gallon-sized Ziploc bag, and pour in the ice and salt. Take the sealed quart bag and place it inside the gallon bag, sealing the gallon bag. Shake up the bag so that the ice comes in contact with the liquid mixture through the bag, thus removing the heat energy from the cream. The heat energy will melt the ice, and the salt will speed up this process by lowering the freezing point of the water and making it colder than the ice was so that the ice cream can freeze faster. The more you shake the bag, the thicker and more solid the ice cream mixture will become. This should take about 10 minutes.

Take the quart bag out of the gallon bag, rinse the salt water off of the outside of the bag, and squeeze the contents of the bag into a cup or bowl.